Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend (born July 4, 1951) is an American attorney who was the sixth Lieutenant Governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. She ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Maryland in 2002. In 2010 Townsend became the chair of the non-profit American Bridge, an organization that will raise funds for Democratic candidates and causes.[1] She is a member of the Kennedy family.

In 1994, Parris Glendening was running for Governor in a highly contested primary against then-Lt. Governor Melvin A. Steinberg when he selected her as his running mate. Experts did not believe she would be an asset, but her name recognition (she now used the name Kennedy Townsend) and her fund-raising skills, helped him to win.[3]

In the general election, Glendening and Townsend beat Republican candidate Ellen Sauerbrey in one of Maryland's closest and most controversial gubernatorial elections. After unofficial results indicated that Sauerbrey had lost the election by a narrow margin, she began making what The Washington Post called "sensational charges" that the election had been stolen.[7] Sauerbrey's allegations included ballot box stuffing, 100% voting in one precinct, voting by numerous dead people, and what she called the Kennedy "precedent"—that unproven rumors that John Kennedy had stolen the 1960 Presidential election proved that his niece Townsend had stolen this election.[7]

The official vote tally declared Glendening the winner by 5,993 votes out of 1.4 million.[7] Sauerbrey hired an election specialist known for aggressive tactics then filed a lawsuit alleging that 50,000 votes had been cast illegally.[7] By the time the hearing began in January 1995, however, Sauerbrey had backed away from the fraud charges and her claim centered on sloppy election procedures and 3,600 challenged ballots.[7] The number of challenged ballots would not have been enough to change the result even if all of them were thrown out. The judge ruled that about 1,800 votes had been cast in Baltimore by people whose names should have been purged from the rolls, but said that there was no clear and convincing evidence that fraud or procedural errors had affected the outcome.[7] Sauerbrey dropped the suit three days before Glendening was to be inaugurated, but still maintained her belief that she had won the election.[7]

Sauerbrey ran against Glendening again in 1998, but this time Glendening and Townsend won by a much wider margin (55% to 44%).

During her tenure as Lt. Governor, Townsend focused on reducing crime and promoting economic development.[3]

During the campaign, Townsend was criticized for her choice of running mate, AdmiralCharles R. Larson, a novice politician who had switched parties only a few weeks before. Larson was also a white male, unlikely to help minority turnout.[8] Ehrlich's running mate was Michael Steele, an African-American lawyer who had been chairman of the Republican Party of Maryland.

Though Maryland traditionally votes Democratic and had not elected a Republican Governor in almost 40 years, Townsend lost the race, gaining 48% of the vote to Ehrlich's 51% and Lancaster's 1%. Ehrlich became only the seventh Republican governor in state history. The Baltimore Sun said the defeat derailed her political career, at least in the short run.[8]

Since leaving office, Townsend has written the book, Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way, (Warner Books, 2007, ISBN 0-446-57715-4). Townsend also contributes to The Recovering Politician website started by Jonathan Miller.

In December 2010, she was appointed chair of American Bridge, a new non-profit that will raise funds for Democratic candidates and causes, and that is intended to be a Democratic counterpart to right-leaning organizations such as American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS.[1] She noted that the Democrats did not have such an organization during the 2010 election cycle, and that Republicans outspent the Democrats by $70 million. "I want to compete dollar to a dollar with the Republicans and I want to beat them", she said.[11]

In 1973, she married David Lee Townsend (b. 1947),[12] whom she had met when he was a graduate student and her tutor at Radcliffe.[13] David is now a member of the faculty at St. John's College in Annapolis.[14] She and her husband have four daughters: Meaghan Anne Kennedy Townsend (born November 7, 1977), Maeve Fahey Kennedy Townsend (born November 1, 1979), Rose Katherine Kennedy "Kat" Townsend (born December 17, 1983) and Kerry Sophia Kennedy Townsend (born November 30, 1991). On June 27, 2011, her daughter Maeve gave birth to a son named Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean. Gideon is the first great-grandchild for Bobby and Ethel as well as the first of the "sixth-generation" of Kennedys.[15]